Another aerial photography drone crashed into Taipei 101 on Tuesday, further highlighting the dangers that drones pose to public security and privacy.
Since the screening of documentary film Beyond Beauty — Taiwan From Above (看見台灣) many people have purchased photography drones and sought to replicate the scenery in the film.
However, this year Taipei 101 has seen drones hit the building on June 15, June 20 and July 21, Taipei 101 spokesperson Liu Chia-hao (劉家豪) said yesterday, adding that one of the drones dropped within 2m of a pedestrian walking near the building.
Photo: Yao Yueh-hung, Taipei Times
A Taichung resident surnamed Tsai (蔡) is the owner of the drone that hit the skyscraper on Tuesday
Tsai said he had been using the drone while visiting Taipei.
The pedestrian was unharmed and the incident was reported to the police, Liu said, adding that there was concern over a lack of regulations for drones.
The wreckage of the drone was found on both the first floor and the balcony of the 82nd floor, indicating that the drone was flying at least as high as the 82nd floor, Liu said.
The broken pieces have been sent to the Taipei City Police Department to establish if the two parts belong to the same drone, Liu said.
Taipei 101’s management is not authorized to view the footage stored inside the drone and must wait for police to conclude investigations before learning which level of the building the drone had crashed into and whether it caused any damage, Liu said.
In the meantime, the building is also searching for potential damage via its window cleaning crews, Liu said, adding that the footage recovered from the drone would greatly help narrow the search area.
Subsequent action depends on the police investigation and if the building has been damaged, Liu said.
The Aviation Police Bureau said that it would watch any footage after the Taipei City Police Department has concluded its investigations, adding that it would look for any violations of regulations of civic-use aircraft and leave the Taipei City Police Department to determine criminal liabilities.
The department said that according to Article 118 of the Civil Aviation Act (民用航空法), owners of pigeons or flight-capable craft that might interfere with aviation safety could be fined from NT$300,000 to NT$1.5 million (US$9,131 to US$45,653).
The departments said owners of aerial photography drones need to be careful where they are using drones to avoid fines.
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
RSS